Obesity, stigma and public health planning

Abstract

Given the rise in obesity rates in North America, concerns about obesity-related costs to the health care system are being stressed in both the popular media and the scientific literature. With such constant calls to action, care must be taken not to increase stigmatization of obese people, particularly of children. While there is much written about stigma and how it is exacerbated, there are few guidelines for public health managers and practitioners who are attempting to design and implement obesity prevention programs that minimize stigma. We examine stigmatization of obese people and the consequences of this social process, and discuss how stigma is manifest in health service provision. We give suggestions for designing non-stigmatizing obesity prevention public health programs. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

“How do you Measure up?” Assumptions About “Obesity” and Health-Related Behaviors and Beliefs in two Australian “Obesity” Prevention Campaigns

“…These images suggest that body fat, in and of itself, is a direct cause of physical degeneration. The ethical issues of continuing to use images in social marketing campaigns that stigmatize fat people and show them as inevitably unattractive, ill and diseased have been raised by a number of critics, including those from within public health (for example, Carter et al 2011, MacLean et al 2009, Puhl et al 2012). Yet they remain a common convention of representation in anti-"obesity" campaigns.…”

Weight bias: Investigating the impact of an empathy-evoking intervention in reducing mental health professionals' anti-fat attitudes

“…Further efforts are warranted to evaluate the presence of weight bias within mental healthcare patient-provider relationships given the implications for clinical treatment and the psychological, emotional and physical health outcomes of patients who are obese. Puhl, Moss-Racusin, Schwartz and Brownell (2008) and Maclean et al (2009) highlighted that further research was needed to examine effective ways of (1) changing people's biased attitudes toward overweight and obese individuals and, (2) addressing the societal factors that reinforce weight bias. Almost a decade on and these investigations continue as there is still more exploration needed into how we tackle societal reinforcers of weight bias, and how we effectively reduce anti-fat attitudes.…”

Estigma de obesidad, su impacto en las víctimas y en los Equipos de Salud: una revisión de la literatura

“…Lo anterior incluye a los equipos de salud que intervienen en esta patología, ya que prácticas discriminatorias derivadas del estigma de obesidad podrían dar lugar a la evitación de los entornos de salud y a la baja adherencia terapéutica de la intervención con especialistas 3,17,18 .…”